The lovely age before starting school is a fun time for kids and parents. Confident enough on their feet and with a growing vocabulary, there’s plenty of ways to keep kids entertained, indoors and outdoors with some tried and tested preschool games.

You might want to consider games that encourage development – physical, emotional or intellectual, or that are fun for families to play together. If you're looking for tried and testing inspiring ideas, below are five fun games for a pre-schooler…

Charades for Kids

There’s more board games for kids than you’d expect, but one of our favourites is Chardes for Kids. A great way to encourage creative thinking, imaginative play and honing communication skills, the timeless game invites young children to look at pictures and act out the subject (a lion, a cat) before time is up!

Eye Spy

The classic game of eye spy is both fun and helpful in your child’s language development. Not just restricted to words you can spot with letters, why not mix it up and get little one’s to spot items using smell, colour and taste too. Get your child to take the lead as well, to inspire their imaginations too.

Treasure Hunt

This is an age group loves fun engaging games. One to get the cogs turning using the age-old motivation of small chocolate buttons for treats! Invite your kids on a treasure hunting mission around the house. Get them thinking by offering clues such as ‘it’s where a Mummy might sleep’ or ‘where we keep children’s plates’ rather than just ‘under the cushion’! You might need to help them read the clues, but let them figure out the rest.

Counting app

There’s some really great guided lessons in the form of digital games for kids available. With cute animations and an engaging way to make counting fun, education.com is one of many sites offering interactive fun for young children. Try the CBeebies website for age-appropriate games, especially their Bitesize section.

Snap

Keep it old school with a fun game of SNAP! A popular game for the whole family, that sharpens reflexes and requires observation. Get a colourful pack of cards for kids and teach them to say ‘snap’ when they match two of the same. Great for travel as well.

Books

And when it comes to the end of a busy day, a toddler book is the perfect way to wind down. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is a very cute read, featuring a bunny saying good night to everything around them – from the moon to the cow!

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